Chapter 534 – Introductions

Soon, we arrived back at the private beach. My father was surprised to see I had one, and when I told him all about the automated restaurants, 24/7 hot springs, and even a whole ass water park, his eyes lit up in stars.

What are you, a little kid?

That’s what I thought when he reacted like that, but the more I interacted with him, the more I realized… yep, he really was one. He was always playful like this, and sometimes, I wonder what my mom even saw in him.

When the girls greeted us back home, however, they were stunned to see my father, and didn’t even recognize him at first.

“Um… Xuan Kai, who’s this…?” Feng Mian asked cautiously, tilting her head.

“He looks a bit like Big Brother Xuan Kai, but a lot older and less handsome…” Qing Yue narrowed her eyes in careful analysis.

“…” My father’s eyes were hidden by his hair as he remained silent, and I could feel an ominous aura building up around him as anger flooded his very being, just ready to be released in an explosion of pure ferocity and rag-

“WAHHHHH! KAI KAI, WHY ARE YOUR WIVES SO MEAN?! I CAN’T… A LOT OLDER, AND LESS HANDSOME?! WAHHHH…”

“What the hell?!” I arched an eyebrow in shock as my father promptly collapsed and latched onto my leg, sobbing and crying. The girls, meanwhile, were too busy blushing at being called my wives to do anything else.

“Get up!” I roared, pulling my father to his feet. “You’re a man! Act like one!”

“Sniff… but…”

I gave a sigh, and patted him on the shoulder before turning to the girls.

“Listen… this is my father, Xuan Ying. Say hi.”

“Hi!” My father waved happily, earlier signs of sadness and tears now completely gone.

“E-Ehhhhh?!” The girls shrieked in unison as they backed away in shock, then quickly got to their knees as they groveled before my dad.

“W-We’re sorry, father!” Feng Mian said for the group, clasping her hands together in apology. “That was very rude of us, we didn’t know!”

At this, my father gave a sigh and waved them off. “No worries, no worries. You didn’t know, I understand. But Yue Yue… you, on the other hand… heheheh…”

Laughing menacingly, my father glared at Qing Yue, who awkwardly scratched her cheek and averted her gaze.

“Heheh… uh… you looked so different that I forgot…”

“My ass!” My father cried. “You’ve just never paid attention to me in the first place, right?! Every time you came over to our house back then, you would rush straight to Kai Kai!”

“A-Ahem…” I cut in, clearing my throat. “In any case, dad, these are… my girlfriends.”

“Yes, I can see that,” my father said, shooting me a glare. “How many are there in total? Answer me.”

“Can’t you count yourself?” I arched an eyebrow.

“Too old.”

I sighed, and fell into thought. “Well, there’s Feng Mian, Qing Yue, the Yu sisters, Ling Xin, Axilia, Mei Gui, Amane, Eve, Lan Xiao Su, Zhao Xiuying, Lorelei, and Lin Luo, so… that’s thirteen.”

“H-Hey!” Lin Luo burst in, face as red as a tomato. “Who said I was your g-g-g-girlfriend! I never agreed!”

“Nani?!” My father suddenly whipped out a glasses out of nowhere, and inspected Lin Luo carefully up and down as he rubbed his chin. “Hm… yes, a classic tsundere… B/W/H…”

“Hey! What are you recording?!” Lin Luo cried in surprise, but my father responded calmly, with a gentlemanly thumbs-up.

“Beauty, wife points, and height, of course!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Cue the silence everyone fell into.

Deciding it was my turn to step in, I tapped on my father’s shoulder, and whispered into his ear.

“… I told you not to do anything weird, didn’t I?”

Hearing the threat in my voice, my father buckled up and gave me a salute, then headed towards the inn. He must be tired.

Watching him go, the girls slowly turned back to me, and I let out a sigh.

“… Sorry. My father… he’s always been like that. When he gets serious, he’s really serious, but since the issue’s been solved, he’s like this now.”

“Wow… like two completely different personalities,” Yu An Yan remarked.

“Yes… how interesting,” Eve said with an alluring smile. “I have never seen this side of him. It is… refreshing, but also slightly awkward.”

“You get used to it,” I said, walking past the girls. “My father… he’s a pretty weird guy, but not a bad one.”

“Of course,” Feng Mian said. “We have to work hard to appeal to him. He’s your father, after all.”

“Nah, there’s no need,” I said. “If anything, just try to appeal to my mother. My father listens to whatever she says.”

“Your mother…” Lan Xiao Su murmured, looking around. “She’s not here though, is she?”

I nodded. “My father told me she was last spotted in Demon Territory. We’re heading off there tomorrow to look for her. Do you guys want to come along?”

“Demon, Territory,” Zhao Xiuying murmured. “Rare, herbs. I’m, coming.”

“I see. And the rest of you…?”

In the end, most of the girls chose to go for this trip, with the only exceptions being Amane, since demihumans apparently couldn’t stand the Demon Territory’s weird stench. People of other races couldn’t smell them, but demihumans with their enhanced senses could—and it was repulsive. As a result, she opted to remain behind.

*****

When I got back to my room, I found my father waiting there. He must’ve found out through one of the girls or something, but as it would seem, he had something to talk about.

Wordlessly, I entered the door, and shut it behind me after my dad walked in. Then, I locked it, and went over to the sofa.

“Take a seat.”

My father did as told, sitting across from me on a chair, and folded his arms.

“Kai Kai… I am here to talk to you about something important.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow curiously. “What is it?”

“Your mother… I believe I know why she went to Demon Territory.”

This was my father’s serious face. He wasn’t kidding around, and I knew it. Lowering my voice, I spoke.

“… Why?”

“The Chaos Realm. Surely, you’ve heard of it?”

I nodded. “Mei Gui told me about it. It is a Realm that can only be accessed by holders of the power of Chaos, and contains secrets to the entire multiverse itself.”

“Correct. But do you know where to access it?”

“… Isn’t it a Realm? You can enter from any place, so long as you meet the requirements, no?”

“Isn’t Chaos just another element, according to that logic?” My father smiled wryly. “My point is, it’s special. Unlike other Realms, the Chaos Realm has a designated gateway on one planet in each universe of the universal sea, otherwise known as the multiverse. We are lucky—the designated gateway for our universe is right here, on Xenith. And as for the exact location… it is in Demon Territory. I have been there once, but was unable to enter due to my lack of potential.”

“But my mother doesn’t have the power of Chaos,” I said, frowning. “Why would she go there?” 

“I am not sure either,” my father replied, sighing. “Ruo Lan… she’s always done things that other people would never understand at first glance. Even I still can’t tell her reasons for doing certain things, despite being with her for so many years. But there is one thing I can say for sure about your mother, and that’s the fact that she never does things without thinking it through. Everything she does has a significant purpose—and often times, that purpose is just too hidden, too deep, for outsiders to realize.”

“In other words… she found a secret about how to enter the Chaos Realm, despite not having Chaos powers?”

“I would assume so, yes,” my father said, rubbing his chin. “But her goal in going there…”

He trailed off, and I averted my gaze, staring out at the window, where the girls were playing on the beach outside and enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

“… We’ll just have to ask her directly, it seems.”

“… Right.” My father stood up, heading for the door. But then, he stopped, personality shifting back to his casual one as he smirked. “By the way… those girls? They’re all stunning beauties, eh? Not bad, Kai Kai. You truly are my son, following in my footsteps.”

“… You had a harem of thirteen girls as well at my age?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Ha! Thirteen? What’s thirteen to me? Back in my day, girls were crawling all over my body! Even Ruo Lan was jealous at time-“

“Ha! Thirteen? What’s thirteen to me? Back in my day, girls were crawling all over my body! Even Ruo Lan was jealous at time-“

I pressed the pause button on the recording on my phone, and then glanced at my father.

“You got more? Go ahead, I’m recording.”

“… Y-You’re not going to show that to your mother when she gets back, right?”

“That depends on your behavior from now on,” I replied calmly, expressionless.

My father gulped. “Back in my day, I wasn’t as calculating as you…”